NBA Winners and Losers of Free Agency

It’s been a wild couple of weeks in the NBA, with plenty of player movement and some big-time signings. Here’s a look at the winners and losers of Free agency thus far.

Winners

The NBA Winners and Losers of free agency list is something that is updated every year. This year, there are a few teams that have done exceptionally well in terms of signing players and making trades. Here are the winners of the NBA Free Agency period:

The Los Angeles Clippers: The Clippers were able to sign both Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, which immediately makes them title contenders. With Leonard and George, the Clippers now have two legitimate superstars on their roster.

The Los Angeles Lakers The Lakers were able to sign Anthony Davis which gives them a fantastic duo of Davis and Lebron James The Lakers also added some solid role players like Danny Green and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.

The Milwaukee Bucks The Bucks were able to re-sign Khris Middleton which keeps their core intact. They also added some solid role players like Wes Matthews and Robin Lopez.

Losers

The biggest loser of free agency has to be the Houston Rockets They lost out on trying to sign both Gordon Hayward and Chris Paul Instead, they had to overpay for players like P.J. Tucker and Luc Mbah a Moute

Biggest Moves

So far, the biggest winners of free agency have been the Brooklyn Nets who added both Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving The Nets are now a clear-cut favorite to win the NBA Finals next season. Other teams that have made significant upgrades include the Los Angeles Clippers who acquired Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, and the Philadelphia 76ers, who landed Al Horford and Tobias Harris

On the other side of things, some of the biggest losers of free agency have been the Los Angeles Lakers who failed to acquire any marquee free agents The Lakers will enter next season with essentially the same team that they had last year, which means that they are probably not going to be a serious threat in the Western Conference Other teams that have made questionable moves during free agency include the Houston Rockets and New Orleans Pelicans

Best Value Contracts

In the NBA, free agency is a time for teams to improve their rosters by signing the best available players. However, it’s also a time for teams to overspend and sign players to contracts that are way above their fair market value. With that in mind, here are some of the best and worst value contracts from this year’s free agency period.

Best Value Contracts:

1. Danilo Gallinari (3 years, $45 million): Gallinari is a very good player who will provide the Hawks with a much-needed scoring punch. He’s a good shooter and has shown that he can be a productive player when healthy. At $15 million per year, he’s a bargain.

2. Malcolm Brogdon (4 years, $85 million): Brogdon is a very solid player who does a little bit of everything well. He’s an excellent shooter and a good playmaker who can also defend at a high level. While $85 million is a lot of money, it’s not an unreasonable amount for a player of his caliber.

3. Ricky Rubio (3 years, $51 million): Rubio is one of the best point guards in the league and will be a huge upgrade for the Jazz at the position. He’s an excellent passer and defender who should fit well in Utah’s system. At just under $17 million per year, he’s fairly priced.

Worst Value Contracts:

1. DeAndre Jordan (4 years, $40 million): Jordan is no longer the dominant force he once was and isn’t worth close to $10 million per year at this stage of his career. The Nets would have been better off signing another center for less money or letting one of their young players develop into a starter.

2. Wesley Matthews (4 years, $70 million): Matthews is a decent player but he’s clearly on the decline at this point in his career. His shooting numbers have dipped significantly over the past few seasons and he doesn’t bring much else to the table anymore. paying him $17.5 million per year is far too much.

3.. Al-Farouq Aminu (3 years, $29 million): Aminu is nothing more than a role player at this point in his career and certainly isn’t worth close to $10 million per year as many other players with similar skill sets will be making much less than that next season

Worst Contracts

In the NBA, Free Agency is a time when teams can improve their rosters by signing the best players available on the open market. However, not all free agent contracts are created equal. Some of them turn out to be great deals for the team, while others become massive albatrosses around their necks.

In this article, we’ll take a look at some of the Worst NBA free agent contracts of all time. These are the deals that should never have been signed, and that have resulted in years of regret for the team involved.

DeAndre Jordan, Los Angeles Clippers
4 years, $88 million

One of the worst contracts in NBA history belongs to DeAndre Jordan of the Los Angeles Clippers In 2016, Jordan was one of the most sought-after free agents on the market, and he ended up signing a four-year deal with the Clippers worth $88 million.

At the time, it looked like a good deal for both sides. The Clippers were able to retain their star center, while Jordan was getting paid a huge sum of money. However, just two years into his contract, Jordan has already become a major financial burden for the team.

His production has dipped significantly since signing his new deal, and he’s also been hampered by injuries. As a result, he’s only played in 97 games over the last two seasons combined. When he’s been on the court, he’s looked lost and confused at times, which is hardly what you want from someone who’s being paid $22 million per year.

The final two years of Jordan’s contract are going to be complete nightmares for the Clippers unless he can turn things around in a big way. Thanks to his albatross of a contract, they’re stuck with him for better or worse.

Most Surprising Moves

The NBA free agency period is always full of surprises, with big-name players changing teams and unheralded role players signing huge contracts. This year was no different, with a number of moves that nobody saw coming. Here are the three most surprising moves of the NBA Free Agency period:

1. The Philadelphia 76ers signing Al Horford
After watching their rivals, the Boston Celtics dominate the Eastern Conference for the past two seasons with Horford at center, it was a shock to see the Sixers sign him to a four-year, $109 million contract Horford is a great player, but he’s 33 years old and doesn’t seem like a good fit for a Sixers team that is trying to win now with young stars like Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons

2. The Brooklyn Nets signing Kyrie Irving
The Nets surprised everyone by signing Irving to a four-year, $112 million contract despite the fact that they already have another All-Star point guard in D’Angelo Russell. It’s going to be interesting to see how these two play together, as they are very similar players. It’s also worth noting that Irving has a history of Knee injuries so the Nets are taking a bit of a risk here.

3. The Los Angeles Lakers trading for Anthony Davis
In one of the most blockbuster trades in recent memory, the Lakers traded away nearly their entire young core – including Lonzo Ball Brandon Ingram and Josh Hart – to acquire All-Star big man Anthony Davis from the New Orleans Pelicans The Lakers gave up a lot to get Davis, but they are now instant contenders in the Western Conference with him teaming up with Lebron James

Most Disappointing Moves

Just because a team spends a lot of money in free agency doesn’t mean they’ve made the best moves. Here are the three most disappointing moves of NBA Free Agency

The first most disappointing move is when the Houston Rockets signed center Tyson Chandler to a four-year, $52 million deal The Rockets already had a solid center in Clint Capela who is younger and cheaper than Chandler. Chandler is also coming off an injury-plagued season with the Phoenix Suns

The second most disappointing move was when the Chicago Bulls handed out a two-year, $27 million contract to forward Jabari Parker. Parker has shown flashes of brilliance, but he’s been plagued by injuries throughout his career. The Bulls already have a young core of players and they should have been focusing on adding veteran leadership, not another young player with injury concerns.

The last most disappointing move of Free Agency was when the Sacramento Kings signed point guard George Hill to a three-year, $57 million deal The Kings have been trying to rebuild for years and signing Hill doesn’t make much sense. He’s 32 years old and doesn’t fit well with the young core of players the Kings have been developing.

Teams That Improved The Most

It was a wild Free Agency period in the NBA, with plenty of big names changing teams. While it’s still too early to tell definitively who won and who lost, we can take a look at the teams that made the most improvements.

The Los Angeles Clippers made some massive changes, acquiring both Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. They immediately become one of the favorites to win the NBA title

The Houston Rockets also made a big splash, trading for Russell Westbrook They team him up with James Harden to form a formidable duo.

The Brooklyn Nets made some interesting moves, signing Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant It will be interesting to see how they mesh together, but they are clearly a better team on paper now.

The Denver Nuggets didn’t make any headline-grabbing moves, but they did well to keep most of their core intact. They should be one of the top teams in the Western Conference again next season.

Teams That regressed The Most

These teams were big spenders in Free Agency last offseason, but they failed to improve and could be in for a long season.

The Washington Wizards made a huge splash in Free Agency last offseason, signing All-Star point guard John Wall to a max contract extension. However, the team failed to improve last season and could be in for a long year. The same can be said for the Brooklyn Nets who made several big signings last offseason but failed to make the playoffs. Another team that struggled last season after signing several big free agents was the Dallas Mavericks

Free Agency Overview

The NBA free agency period is off to a hot start, with several big names already agreeing to new contracts. While some teams are clearly winners so far, others have lost out in the early going. Here’s a look at the winners and losers of NBA Free Agency thus far.

Losers:
Washington Wizards The Wizards were one of the teams most active in free agency but they failed to land any of their top targets. Instead, they made a series of smaller signings that will likely do little to improve their chances of contending for a playoff spot next season.

Atlanta Hawks: The Hawks entered free agency with ample cap space but they’ve been largely inactive thus far. They did agree to sign Danilo Gallinari to a big contract, but it remains to be seen if he’ll be able to stay healthy and if he’s worth the investment.

Winners:
Philadelphia 76ers: The 76ers made a huge splash by signing Tobias Harris to a five-year, $180 million max contract. Harris gives them another talented scorer to pair with Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons and they didn’t have to give up much in terms of assets to get him.

Brooklyn Nets: The Nets agreed to sign Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant two of the biggest names in free agency outright. They also signed DeAndre Jordan and Garrett Temple, two solid role players who will help them round out their roster.